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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2024.111
People
Chen Haiyan 陳海燕 ( Fushun, Liaoning province, China born 1955)
Title
A Rat Tells Me [Your Cat is My Friend]
Other Titles
Original Language Title: 老鼠说
Classification
Prints
Work Type
print
Date
1986
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/383969

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Woodblock print; ink on pi zhi bast paper
Dimensions
image: H. 19 × W. 13 cm (7 1/2 × 5 1/8 in.)
paper: H. 32.2 × W. 23 cm (12 11/16 × 9 1/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • signature: in pencil: 10/30 梦1986年3月2日老鼠说 陈海燕1986 [10/30 Dream: March 2, 1986, A Rat Tells Me; Chen Haiyan 1986]
  • inscription: printed: 我在床上睡着了，
    突然我害怕了，
    看到那么干净的老鼠要上床，
    它对我说它和猫是朋友。

    梦 一九八六三二


    DREAM: MARCH 2, 1986
    I was asleep in my bed,
    when suddenly I had a fright.
    I caught sight of this very clean rat.
    It wanted to climb on the bed.
    It told me that it was my cat's friend.

    [Translation: Britta Erickson]

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Chen Haiyan, Hangzhou (1986-2024), sold [through Ink Studio, Beijing, China]; to Harvard Art Museums, 2024.

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

Edition
10/30

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Johanna and Leslie Garfield Fund in Honor of Professor Roderick MacFarquhar
Accession Year
2024
Object Number
2024.111
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
The coarsely cut woodblock print in black ink is enclosed within vertically oriented rectangle. The print depicts a figure in bed with arms up in the air. A large rat standing on a low stool is climbing on the bed. Chinese characters occupy right half of the print.

Publication History

  • Britta Erickson, Abby Chen, and Amjad Majid, Chen Haiyan: Carving the Unconscious (Seattle, 2016), pl. 12

Related Works

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu